#30 - 2026 State of Play Roundtable

I gathered up some previous guests and asked them to bring some topics we can all talk about. Joining me on this episode are: EB Caron Katrina Coleman Kristin Thuv Sarah Schuler Valerie Coit

Before we had any idea what we were going to do for the 2025 Portland Jigsaw Master livestream, I put a call out for people who would be interested in hopping on the livestream and chatting for a brief chat. The thinking was that it would be fun to get some different perspectives on the world of speed puzzling. Some brave souls immediately raised their hands. In this episode I pulled together those six short conversations as well as three additional short conversations with folks that I weren’t able to get on to the livestream primarily due to my own lack of planning. In these conversations we discuss everything from what speed puzzling was like in Australia, to what it was like to do the same puzzle hundreds of times. Some notes: Since many of these conversations were recorded live at the event while competition is going on, the audio quality isn’t the best and you’ll hear us occasionally reacting to what was going on at the moment. These conversations were recorded in July and August of 2025, so references to events in the future at the time are now events in the past (e.g., the 2025 Worlds competition), and references to “last November” were referring to 2024. The complete livestream event can be found on YouTube at PortlandJigsawMasters, where you can also hear interviews with winners, and expert commentary by folks like Jeanne Roiter, Jim Eakins, and EB Caron(?). Speaking of expert commentary, you’ll also hear the insightful questions of my co-host for much of the event, Carlie Craig, who was brand new to competitive jigsaw puzzling.

You might know Tammy McLeod as one of the founders of the United States Jigsaw Puzzle Association. You might know her as a Guinness World Record holder. Or possibly as a US National Sudoku champion, a member of the US escape room team, or competitive ballroom dancer. But however you know her, you’ll probably agree that she brings an unrelenting drive to every single pursuit.

Andrew Bradburn placed third in the US Nationals competition…in 1983. In this episode he talks about what that experience was like, how he was present as the USAJPA began to come together, and what he’s been up to since.

If you’ve watched the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship, you’ve probably seen Charlie Kendall. Officially he’s the onsite announcer, but he occasionally appears on the livestreams and the odds are good that if something needs fixing, he’s in the middle trying to fix it.

The last time we talked to Wiktor Kacprzak, we didn’t have enough time with him. We did not make that mistake this time. If you ever wanted to deep dive into a world-class competitor’s experiences at Worlds, this episode is for you!

If the first two episodes in this series were novels, this one is a collection of short stories of things we thought were interesting. We talk to Emma Williamson about her surprise win in an individuals semi-finals round, EB relays text conversations she had with Worlds Individuals Champion Weronika Huptas, and with her partner in winning the Pairs finals Anna Kazana. We talk to Andreas Heyerick and Daniela Berendsen of the European Committee for Jigsaw Puzzling, and EB reads about a unicorn named Silver. Here are the full transcripts of EBs interviews with Anna and Weronika: Anna Kazana Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16ZYOGoHjfwAoQoZzmOj5z1U4k5o0BEUj7N6hZ3jgAiM/edit?usp=sharing Weronika Huptas Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19dbDjDyuEPM8KNBnzR41KNQi8Q-pev8wlbKBRtMGJMQ/edit?usp=sharing

In the second episode of the Worlds Wrap mini-series, EB Caron and I check in with two-time World Champion Alejandro Clemente León to see if the 2025 Worlds ended up being as stress free as he thought it was going to be.

In the first episode of the Worlds Wrap mini-series (!), EB Caron and I talk to European Champion Kathi Reiner about the progress she's made since last year's Worlds and how she managed to place in the top 3 of every event at this year's Worlds. There may even be a stat or two.

EB Caron joins me once again to talk about some puzzlers you might want to watch for at the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship this year.